Anyone Heard From NJ Firms? Forum

[Anonymous User]

anyone have any idea what I should do with Cole and Bressler? Had interviews with them many weeks ago, left messages and emails but no response. What should I take this as? Am I on hold or have I been rejected? Thoughts? I don't know what to do.

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Cole also hires 3-5 SA's and they only do CB's on Mondays and Fridays. They probably want to get through everyone before they start making decisions (and see who withdraws as well).

[Anonymous User]

anyone have any idea what I should do with Cole and Bressler? Had interviews with them many weeks ago, left messages and emails but no response. What should I take this as? Am I on hold or have I been rejected? Thoughts? I don't know what to do.

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Weird, because they are scheduling CBs past Oct. 12th...

[Anonymous User]

anyone have any idea what I should do with Cole and Bressler? Had interviews with them many weeks ago, left messages and emails but no response. What should I take this as? Am I on hold or have I been rejected? Thoughts? I don't know what to do.

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Weird, because they are scheduling CBs past Oct. 12th...

Well most hiring committees meet more than once. At some firms it's weekly. That was just the FIRST time it would be meeting.

[Anonymous User]

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Weird, because they are scheduling CBs past Oct. 12th...

Well most hiring committees meet more than once. At some firms it's weekly. That was just the FIRST time it would be meeting.

Right, but if they only have 3-5 spots they may be done with offers after that first meeting, especially since the majority of their interviews are before then.

[Anonymous User]

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Weird, because they are scheduling CBs past Oct. 12th...

Well most hiring committees meet more than once. At some firms it's weekly. That was just the FIRST time it would be meeting.

Right, but if they only have 3-5 spots they may be done with offers after that first meeting, especially since the majority of their interviews are before then.

I think a majority of the CBs that Cole has are from T14 law schools...if last year is any suggestion, no T14 will probably accept the offer...Cole seems to pull more lower T1s and up.

[Anonymous User]

Offer from Riker. About time. I guess they're back on the ball.

did they riker make the offer over the phone?

Yes.

Stats to the second offer at Riker Danzig.

[Anonymous User]

Cole told me their hiring committee wasn't meeting until October 12th. I know NJ is slower but that just seems crazy.

Weird, because they are scheduling CBs past Oct. 12th...

Well most hiring committees meet more than once. At some firms it's weekly. That was just the FIRST time it would be meeting.

Right, but if they only have 3-5 spots they may be done with offers after that first meeting, especially since the majority of their interviews are before then.

I think a majority of the CBs that Cole has are from T14 law schools...if last year is any suggestion, no T14 will probably accept the offer...Cole seems to pull more lower T1s and up.

A lot of people at T14s won't be able to hold out for an offer that won't come until mid-October, particularly if they're also looking at New York. Speaking from NYU, the only people they're going to get from here are people who have completely struck out in New York and people who are only aiming for the slow-ass NJ firms (and I bet there aren't many of those). Even if NJ is your first choice, you'd be crazy not to apply to NYC firms as well on account of small class sizes in NJ, and NYC firms move fast.

[Anonymous User]

A lot of people at T14s won't be able to hold out for an offer that won't come until mid-October, particularly if they're also looking at New York. Speaking from NYU, the only people they're going to get from here are people who have completely struck out in New York and people who are only aiming for the slow-ass NJ firms (and I bet there aren't many of those). Even if NJ is your first choice, you'd be crazy not to apply to NYC firms as well on account of small class sizes in NJ, and NYC firms move fast.

Then again, there are still some of us T14's that interviewed in both NYC/NJ that don't have offers yet and are at the mercy of the "slow ass" NJ firms and their timelines. (And not all of us are in this position because of bad grades).

Additionally, the T14 person with a NYC/other offer wouldn't necessarily have to wait if they were running up against the NALP deadline -- they would just have to tell the firm, "I have an offer at XYZ MegaFirm that expires on xx date, but I really want to work at NJMidLawFirm. Is there a chance you can let me know before that date because your firm is my top choice".

[Anonymous User]

Any tips for my screener with MDMC? I'm a Philly native, how important are north Jersey ties?

[Anonymous User]

It really is such a shame that these Jersey firms waited so long. I am a CCN transfer, and I was very excited about the prospects in Jersey in early August when I began applying. I was lucky enough to interview with a few places pretty early. At that point, I was new to the process and I was really a clean slate that could have been swayed much more easily.

So by waiting this long to get things going, I've had my chance to interview with a number of large NY firms, meet people in them, do multiple visits etc. At this point, I want the process to be done, not just getting it started. So the Jersey firms calling up now really missed the boat given the timing of the CCN OCI programs. As I said, its really a shame since I would have very seriously considered them had they gotten to me earlier.

[Anonymous User]

Any tips for my screener with MDMC? I'm a Philly native, how important are north Jersey ties?

Is your screener definitely with the Morristown office? Because they have Philly/Wilmington offices too; so they might be looking at you for one of those offices if you go to a Philly school and they're doing the screeners there. So you might not have to worry too much about the ties issue. If your interview is at the Morristown office, then it's a CB, but it's kind of a weird style (you will interview with 2 partners and 2 associates, but they interview you in pairs rather than one-by-one, so it's pretty intense).

Other tips: know their practice areas; be prepared to explain why exactly you want MDMC. A good thing to emphasize is that you really want hands-on work and want to be in court and taking depositions ASAP as opposed to the typical "cog in the machine" BigLaw work (and keep in mind their practice areas are not the type of work you are going to get in BigLaw, although I think they would like to get there eventually; I emphasized lit in my interview because they don't really have a corporate department right now). Ed Deutsch is also "the man" there and is the key name partner that maps out the direction of the firm (i.e. the Carpenter merger and the recent office addition mergers). Also, since there isn't much about their summer associate assignment system -- they try to get you something in every practice area, but you can go and seek out partners on your own if you hear about something you are interested in. They also try and use SA's like junior associates as much as possible.

[Anonymous User]

It really is such a shame that these Jersey firms waited so long. I am a CCN transfer, and I was very excited about the prospects in Jersey in early August when I began applying. I was lucky enough to interview with a few places pretty early. At that point, I was new to the process and I was really a clean slate that could have been swayed much more easily.

So by waiting this long to get things going, I've had my chance to interview with a number of large NY firms, meet people in them, do multiple visits etc. At this point, I want the process to be done, not just getting it started. So the Jersey firms calling up now really missed the boat given the timing of the CCN OCI programs. As I said, its really a shame since I would have very seriously considered them had they gotten to me earlier.

If you really want NJ, you should have called them and reached out to the recruiters and told them that you wanted XYZ NJ firm, but you have offer from NYMegaFirm and need to know ASAP. Seriously, they're not stupid at these firms. They know most T14 people are using NJ as a backup and aren't taking the $120k at Cole Schotz when they can get $160k at *insert NYC V100 here*.

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

depends on the firm...can be anywhere from 50-60k all the way up to about 145k (although only one firm pays this much)

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

I'm assuming you mean BigLaw firms.
It's on NALP, but here's a breakdown for first-years/SA equivalent salaries (for firms that hire SA's only)

$145k - Proskauer (Newark), Patton Boggs (Newark)
$140k - Lerner David (IP only), Lowenstein Sandler
$135k - Sills
$130k - Drinker Biddle, Riker Danzig
$125k - Fox Rothschild
$120k - Bressler, Cole Schotz, Day Pitney, Porzio
$115k - Greenbaum
$110k - Archer & Grenier, connell foley, MDM&C
$105k - NMM

Edited to reflect better information.

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

I'm assuming you mean BigLaw firms.
It's on NALP, but here's a breakdown for first-years/SA equivalent salaries (for firms that hire SA's only)

$160k - Patton Boggs (Newark)
$145k - Proskauer (Newark)
$140k - Lerner David (IP only), Lowenstein Sandler
$135k - Sills
$130k - Drinker Biddle, Riker Danzig
$125k - Fox Rothschild
$120k - Bressler, Cole Schotz, Day Pitney, Porzio
$115k - Greenbaum
$110k - Archer & Grenier
$105k - NMM

Non-NALP/not sure: Connell Foley, MDM&C

I think MCM&C is $110. Also not sure if Patton Boggs salary is accurate. I know its $160 on nalp, but I believe it actually is 145k also.

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

I'm assuming you mean BigLaw firms.
It's on NALP, but here's a breakdown for first-years/SA equivalent salaries (for firms that hire SA's only)

$160k - Patton Boggs (Newark)
$145k - Proskauer (Newark)
$140k - Lerner David (IP only), Lowenstein Sandler
$135k - Sills
$130k - Drinker Biddle, Riker Danzig
$125k - Fox Rothschild
$120k - Bressler, Cole Schotz, Day Pitney, Porzio
$115k - Greenbaum
$110k - Archer & Grenier
$105k - NMM

Non-NALP/not sure: Connell Foley, MDM&C

I think MCM&C is $110. Also not sure if Patton Boggs salary is accurate. I know its $160 on nalp, but I believe it actually is 145k also.

$110 sounds about right for MDM&C. I just went off NALP for PB -- but it makes more sense if it's $145k. Also, for some reason I thought Lowenstein was $145 as well, but NALP has them at $140.

[Anonymous User]

How much do NJ firms pay?

I'm assuming you mean BigLaw firms.
It's on NALP, but here's a breakdown for first-years/SA equivalent salaries (for firms that hire SA's only)

$160k - Patton Boggs (Newark)
$145k - Proskauer (Newark)
$140k - Lerner David (IP only), Lowenstein Sandler
$135k - Sills
$130k - Drinker Biddle, Riker Danzig
$125k - Fox Rothschild
$120k - Bressler, Cole Schotz, Day Pitney, Porzio
$115k - Greenbaum
$110k - Archer & Grenier
$105k - NMM

Non-NALP/not sure: Connell Foley, MDM&C

I think MCM&C is $110. Also not sure if Patton Boggs salary is accurate. I know its $160 on nalp, but I believe it actually is 145k also.

$110 sounds about right for MDM&C. I just went off NALP for PB -- but it makes more sense if it's $145k. Also, for some reason I thought Lowenstein was $145 as well, but NALP has them at $140.

Connell is 110k

[Anonymous User]

A lot of people at T14s won't be able to hold out for an offer that won't come until mid-October, particularly if they're also looking at New York. Speaking from NYU, the only people they're going to get from here are people who have completely struck out in New York and people who are only aiming for the slow-ass NJ firms (and I bet there aren't many of those). Even if NJ is your first choice, you'd be crazy not to apply to NYC firms as well on account of small class sizes in NJ, and NYC firms move fast.

Then again, there are still some of us T14's that interviewed in both NYC/NJ that don't have offers yet and are at the mercy of the "slow ass" NJ firms and their timelines. (And not all of us are in this position because of bad grades).

Additionally, the T14 person with a NYC/other offer wouldn't necessarily have to wait if they were running up against the NALP deadline -- they would just have to tell the firm, "I have an offer at XYZ MegaFirm that expires on xx date, but I really want to work at NJMidLawFirm. Is there a chance you can let me know before that date because your firm is my top choice".

Not sure why the defensive tone. My only point is that Cole Schotz isn't putting themselves in a position to compete with any NYC firms or the larger/faster NJ firms.

I actually did tell Cole Schotz I had an offer expiring before their hiring committee meets, and they basically said they wouldn't be able to make a decision without having the hiring committee meet. This was prior to the interview, so who knows, maybe they just didn't like me on paper and would have told me different if they had. They let me move my interview up anyway, though, which was nice.

[Anonymous User]

A lot of people at T14s won't be able to hold out for an offer that won't come until mid-October, particularly if they're also looking at New York. Speaking from NYU, the only people they're going to get from here are people who have completely struck out in New York and people who are only aiming for the slow-ass NJ firms (and I bet there aren't many of those). Even if NJ is your first choice, you'd be crazy not to apply to NYC firms as well on account of small class sizes in NJ, and NYC firms move fast.

Then again, there are still some of us T14's that interviewed in both NYC/NJ that don't have offers yet and are at the mercy of the "slow ass" NJ firms and their timelines. (And not all of us are in this position because of bad grades).

Additionally, the T14 person with a NYC/other offer wouldn't necessarily have to wait if they were running up against the NALP deadline -- they would just have to tell the firm, "I have an offer at XYZ MegaFirm that expires on xx date, but I really want to work at NJMidLawFirm. Is there a chance you can let me know before that date because your firm is my top choice".

The people I know with no NYC offers yet are are very close to having no NYC offers at all, so they basically go in the first category. But I'm sure it depends a little on when your initial OCI was.

I did tell Cole Schotz I had an offer expiring before their hiring committee meets, and they basically said they wouldn't be able to make a decision without having the hiring committee meet.

My OCI/CB's were late for a variety of reasons (I haven't even had one of my NYC CB's yet), so I know I'm at the mercy; maybe we are people in "danger of striking out", but I'm 99% sure that those are the types the NJ firms get from T14's anyway and the firms know it and don't particularly care. (Except maybe Lowenstein)

As for Cole Schotz, that sucks that they aren't a help to you, but was your CB with them THAT impressive that you would choose them over your NYC/other offers? I mean, it's not like Cole Schotz has a "lifestyle firm" reputation that is the typical reason why you go MidLaw over BigLaw. (I'm honestly curious... maybe CS really is that awesome; I have a CB coming up with them and I may see where you're coming from soon enough on that).

[Anonymous User]

A lot of people at T14s won't be able to hold out for an offer that won't come until mid-October, particularly if they're also looking at New York. Speaking from NYU, the only people they're going to get from here are people who have completely struck out in New York and people who are only aiming for the slow-ass NJ firms (and I bet there aren't many of those). Even if NJ is your first choice, you'd be crazy not to apply to NYC firms as well on account of small class sizes in NJ, and NYC firms move fast.

Then again, there are still some of us T14's that interviewed in both NYC/NJ that don't have offers yet and are at the mercy of the "slow ass" NJ firms and their timelines. (And not all of us are in this position because of bad grades).

Additionally, the T14 person with a NYC/other offer wouldn't necessarily have to wait if they were running up against the NALP deadline -- they would just have to tell the firm, "I have an offer at XYZ MegaFirm that expires on xx date, but I really want to work at NJMidLawFirm. Is there a chance you can let me know before that date because your firm is my top choice".

The people I know with no NYC offers yet are are very close to having no NYC offers at all, so they basically go in the first category. But I'm sure it depends a little on when your initial OCI was.

I did tell Cole Schotz I had an offer expiring before their hiring committee meets, and they basically said they wouldn't be able to make a decision without having the hiring committee meet.

My OCI/CB's were late for a variety of reasons (I haven't even had one of my NYC CB's yet), so I know I'm at the mercy; maybe we are people in "danger of striking out", but I'm 99% sure that those are the types the NJ firms get from T14's anyway and the firms know it and don't particularly care. (Except maybe Lowenstein)

As for Cole Schotz, that sucks that they aren't a help to you, but was your CB with them THAT impressive that you would choose them over your NYC/other offers? I mean, it's not like Cole Schotz has a "lifestyle firm" reputation that is the typical reason why you go MidLaw over BigLaw. (I'm honestly curious... maybe CS really is that awesome; I have a CB coming up with them and I may see where you're coming from soon enough on that).

Haha I edited my post to be more polite and then you had already replied, oops.

What ended up happening with Cole Schotz is that I moved my CB up so I could at least evaluate whether they were worth pestering my other firm for an extension. My OCI screener basically sold Cole Schotz as a lifestyle firm, so it was worth checking out for that reason, and it would also be a really short commute for me. It seems like they have more private clients than a lot of larger firms, so in that sense there's potential for better hours, but not better enough. There's definitely a salary difference between them and the other firm, and I didn't find the environment at Cole Schotz to be any better. I'm glad I got to go and see them though, because at least I'm making an informed decision now.

[Anonymous User]

Any tips for my screener with MDMC? I'm a Philly native, how important are north Jersey ties?

Is your screener definitely with the Morristown office? Because they have Philly/Wilmington offices too; so they might be looking at you for one of those offices if you go to a Philly school and they're doing the screeners there. So you might not have to worry too much about the ties issue. If your interview is at the Morristown office, then it's a CB, but it's kind of a weird style (you will interview with 2 partners and 2 associates, but they interview you in pairs rather than one-by-one, so it's pretty intense).

Other tips: know their practice areas; be prepared to explain why exactly you want MDMC. A good thing to emphasize is that you really want hands-on work and want to be in court and taking depositions ASAP as opposed to the typical "cog in the machine" BigLaw work (and keep in mind their practice areas are not the type of work you are going to get in BigLaw, although I think they would like to get there eventually; I emphasized lit in my interview because they don't really have a corporate department right now). Ed Deutsch is also "the man" there and is the key name partner that maps out the direction of the firm (i.e. the Carpenter merger and the recent office addition mergers). Also, since there isn't much about their summer associate assignment system -- they try to get you something in every practice area, but you can go and seek out partners on your own if you hear about something you are interested in. They also try and use SA's like junior associates as much as possible.

Thanks for this - very helpful. Just to clarify, my interview is with the hiring person on campus, who I'm assuming is based out of the main office. If it were for the Philly office, I'd think that it would be an associate or partner from there instead of her. Very annoying this information is made clear most of the time.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the progression for salaries is at Riker Danzig. I know the first year associate's salary is $130K. Is there information out there about whether it is a lock-step or merit based progression and/or what that progression looks like?

[Anonymous User]

what about Bressler? didnt they hire about 9ish SA's last year? what are they doing right now? waiting like Cole? I know a few people at T14 have gotten CB's via mass mail...but what about everyone else?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the CB to offer ratio at CS is like?